K-1 MAX Draws a Very Low 7.6% Rating
by Dave Walsh on Nov 9, 2010 7:00 PM EST
in K-1 MAX News
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While the hangover from the K-1 World Max tournament is still fresh in all of our minds, and Giorgio Petrosyan's deadly right hand is on ice, the television ratings for the K-1 World Max tournament have come out and they are less-than-favorable. The average for the show comes in at a very low 7.6% (credit: NOB), falling from last year's 10.7% for the World MAX Finals. To contrast this fully for you, the Final 8 last year pulled in a 15.0% rating.
This is not the end of the world, but if anything shows that the loss of Masato, Andy Souwer and Buakaw Por. Pramuk were much, much bigger than expected. Masato of course is the biggest loss for K-1 MAX, as there have been no Japanese stars to captivate audiences like he has. Apparently Nagashima and Sato have not been able to capture the fans' fickle attention during such a down economy in Japan.
On top of that, the ace FEG had hidden up their sleeve of Satoshi Ishii has shown to be a complete dud. Consider his leverage for contract negotiations null and void at this point and that the age of Satoshi Ishii being an important media figure all but dead. The Ishii vs. Shibata fight did draw a 12.1%, but even that is less-than-impressive.
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No Masato
+ Success of methodical fighters like Petrosyan and Sato in place of super-aggressive Drago and Zambidis
+TBS editing
=MAX, no future
I wish I disagreed with you on this.
The Japanese will never catch on to Sato.
Nagashima could, in theory, catch on, but his cosplaying/crossdressing might even be too much for Japanese fans.
I watched the TBS broadcast and it was just awful.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
Nagashima actually does have some very real recognition and he’s brought quite a few companies to sponsor MAX via his personal fan appeal.
The obvious problem, of course, being that he’s just not really good enough. Schiavello and Kogan talked as if it was an all new Nagashima that showed up this year, but that’s confirmation bias (after all, they were recording in a studio and probably already knew of how the event went down).
He’s crafty with a fair bit of power, but he just doesn’t have the discipline and completeness to be a champ. He ended up as JMAX champ because of the luck of the draw, but K-1 can hardly drag out Dida every time it needs him in the Finals.
Sato, I’ve always liked much more than Masato, but if the casual fan can’t appreciate Petrosyan… He can probably garner a fair amount of respect if he actually becomes champ (Ishii was hardly the most exciting judoka himself), and I still believe in his chances, but that last Final was nothing short of heartbreaking. I doubt the average viewer wants to set himself up for that again.
But my biggest beef is with TBS. How can anyone be expected to be immersed in a tournament, when they cut half the intro-videos in favor of showing Shibata’s entrance?
Nagashima is really good.
At least in his pre-K-1 fights he was a beast. I’m not sure how it translates into the upper echelon, maybe he’ll finally gain his composure next year.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
I think a lot of it has to do with his power and awkward style, I wouldn’t consider him a “beast” by any means. Against his compatriots that will probably remain a difficult obstacle to overcome, but fighters on the world level will continue to handle him with ease. Look at Hinata for instance, really not suited for tournament fighting but will have a much better showing than Nagashima against Final 8 fighters.
TBS also never really got behind Sato, actually they never cared about him and either cut his fights to pieces or as was the case this year – didn’t even show his fight at the Japan MAX. Don’t get me wrong, he’d never be a big star but as the best remaining Japanese fighter at super-welter it would have been wise not to give him a cold shoulder.
But their entire business model was doomed to begin with. MAX is TBS’ baby and thus holds the reigns, but anyone with decent business sense could figure out that relying on TV ratings alone was never going to work. You need to create an identity first and not the “Masato plus some other guys show”, it’s funny but the -63 KG division is in better shape already although FEG itself isn’t.
They'll float him literally a boatload of PUJI money come next year, I bet.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
Maybe lack of K.O was the main problem
petrosyan fight’s style was boring this year , he just wanted points and exciting fight was not important for him.
what a shame
really is
Facts don't come with points of view.
by Robert Livingston on Nov 10, 2010 1:38 AM EST reply actions
Japan needs a MAX star
HIROYA has proven to be such a bust, it’s saddening. MAX is still developing teens, right? Hopefully one of them is the Japanese star K-1 needs.
I’m hoping Pajonsuk has success in MAX. I can see the Japanese fans liking his style. Why didn’t Souwer or Buakaw perform this year?
They are indeed still developing teens in the Koshien shows. Trouble is, most of those guys move to the 63kg division, not the 70kg MAX division. The 63kg has some bright Japanese prospects – a fighter like Koya Urabe has major upside. That’s great for 63, bad for 70.
Souwer was out because MAX took so long to announce the GP that he was already booked by the time they got around to it. Buakaw is taking a potentially permanent leave from K-1 for all sorts of reasons.
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by Fraser Coffeen on Nov 11, 2010 6:07 PM EST up reply actions
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